Sparkling Flashcards
Grape requirements
- low sugar
- high acid
- sufficiently ripe flavors (no green)
Why are cool regions better?
changes to sugar and acid happen slowly
Why is hand hand harvested prefered?
hand picked to retain whole bunches of unsplit grape
Why are whole bunches pressing used?
- pressing must be gentle to avoid extraction of tannins and color
- avoid crushing, contact between skins and juice is minimized
Traditional method steps
- Base: 1st ferm: dry, neutral flavored, high acid
- Blend: 3 reasons
- Liquere de tirage (mixture of wine, sugar, yeast, yeast nutrients, clarifying agent) added (second fermentation)
- Lees: autolytic character (bread, biscuit, toast)
- Riddling: hand or gyropalatte
- Disgorgement
- Liquere d’expedition/dosage (wine and/or sugar) added and corked
- Bottle aging
*bread, biscuit, toast
Why blend?
- consistency
- balance
- complexity
Liqueure de tirage
mixture of wine, sugar, yeast, yeast nutrients, clarifying agent
Yeast autolysis flavors
bread, biscuit, toast
Liquere d’expedition (dosage)
mixture of wine and sugar
Transfer method steps (“bottle fermented”)
- base wine (dry, neutral flavored, high acid)
- blending
- second fermentation (liquere de tirage added)
- yeast autolysis
- disgorged into a tank under pressure
- filtered to remove yeast lees
- liquere d’expedition added
- bottled
*bread, biscuit, toast
Tank method steps
- Base wine fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel (no MLF or oak)
- Second fermentation in sealed tank
- Filtered to remove yeast lees
- Bottled
*no bread, biscuit, toast > retains flavors of base wine
Wines that use tank method
- Prosecco
- Muscat and Riesling sparkling wines
Asti method steps
- Chill juice
- Warm juice during partial fermentation in pressurized tank (single fermentation)
- Initially CO2 allowed to escape but then stopped
- Chilled to stop fermentation
- Filtered to remove yeast lees6. Bottled
Style of wine for each sparkling method
- traditional method: autolytic character
- transfer method: autolytic character
- tank method: retains flavors of base wine (Prosecco)
- asti method: sweet fruity, low alcohol
- carbonation method: fruity, retains flavors of base wine
Carbonation method steps
- CO2 injected into still wine
- bottled under pressure
EU sweetness labelling (dry to sweet)
- Brut Nature
- Extra Brut
- Brut
- Extra Sec
- Sec
- Demi Sec
- Doux
Non-vintage
- not a labelling term
Vintage
- Champagne
- single year
- only made in best years
Rose sparkling wine
- blending red and white base or short maceration
Blanc de Blancs
whites grapes only
Blanc de Noirs
black grapes only
Prestige Cuvee
- not a labelling term
- producer’s best wine
- popular use in Champagne
How is the rating for sparkling wine in Champagne different from Burgundy or Alsace?
- whole village is rated and not specific vineyard sites
- not required to meet stricter production requirements like lower yields
Most famous Champagne sub-regions
- Montagne de Reims (Pinot Noir)
- Vallee de la Marne (Pinot Meunier)
- Cote des Blancs (Chardonnay)
What makes Champagne ideal for sparkling wine?
- cool Continental climate
- sugar levels remain low
- acid levels remain high
Grape varieties used in Champagne
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Noir
- Pinot Meunier
Cuvee
- first liquid off the press
- purest juice
- best Champagnes
Taille
- remainder of juice after cuvee
Champagne winemaking
- primary fermentation in stainless steel or oak
- MLF sometimes
- base wine aged sometimes
- blending due to weather variability
- fermented into small parcels > allow blending options
Non-vintage Champagne
- aged: 15 months (12 months lees)
- high acid
- autolytic flavors
- lighter body
- fresh fruit flavors
- Brut
Vintage Champagne
- aged: 36 months
- only best years
- high acid
- more concentrated
- stronger autolytic flavors (toast, biscuit) from longer lees aging
- Brut
Prestige Cuvee
- house’s finest wine
- often but not always vintage
Why is blending important for the traditional method?
- House style: different vineyards, varieties, vintages combine to offset vintage variation which occurs in cool climates.
- Balance: Chardonnay for citrus, finesse, aging. Pinot for red fruit, roundness, body.
- Complexity: blending in reserve wine (stored from previous vintages) for tertiary flavors (dried fruit to fresh flavors of younger wine).
Cremant regions
- Cremant d’Alsace
- Cremant de Bourgogne
- Cremant de Loire
Cremant requirements
- traditional method
- 9 months on lees
Appellations in Loire for sparkling wine
- Saumur
- Vouvray
Varietals in sparkling Saumur
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
- Cabernet Franc
Sparkling Vouray profile
- Chenin Blanc
- high acid
- not as much autolytic character as Chardonnay
- smoky, toasty
Where is most Cava made?
- Catalan vineyards
- town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia
Cava profile
- traditional method
- 9 months on lees
- dry
- medium acid
- some autolytic character
- non vintage
- ready to drink
Varietals in Cava
- Macabeo
- Xarel-lo
- Parellada
- Garnacha (rose)
- Monstrell (rose)
- Chardonnay (new)
- Pinot Noir (new)
Asti profile
- Asti method
- Piedmonte
- Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains
- pronounced grapey character, peach, floral perfume
- sweet
- low alcohol (7%)
- no autolytic character
- ready to drink
Prosseco profile
- tank method
- Veneto, Friuli, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene (premium)
- Glera
- medium acid
- green apple, melon
- off dry
- ready to drink
Sekt profile
- tank method
- base wines from France or Italy
- Deutscher Sekt (Germany)
- Riesling
Austrailian sparkling profile
- traditional method
- Adelaide Hills, Yarra Vally, Tasmania
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
- rose: full body, red berry fruit, smooth tannin, off dry
New Zealand sparkling profile
- traditional method
- Marlborough
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc (carbonation method, tank method)
South Africa sparkling profile
- traditional method (Methode Cap Classique)
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
- 12 months on lees
USA sparkling profile
- traditional method
- Los Carneros, Anderson Valley
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
- 5 years on lees
What is the soil in Champagne and how does it benefit the grapes?
- chalk
- good drainage after storms
- retains enough water during dry periods
What does the term Grand Cru mean on a Champagne bottle?
- one of 17 Grand Cru villages
- higher quality
- fruit completely sourced from Grand Cru village
Why does the tank method have little to no autolytic character?
- 2nd fermentation inside of sealed tank
- yeast lees filtered after 2nd fermentation complete
- little to no time spent in contact with lees > no autolytic character
Why are wines produced by the Asti method sweet or semi sweet?
- single fermentation stopped early at approx. 7% abv by chilling wine
- residual sugar leftover
